Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Galapagos Islands

Baroness Hooper: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of COVID-19 in the Galapagos Islands; and what plans they have, if any, to review its rating as a red list country for travel purposes.

Lord Bethell: Decisions to designate countries as either ‘red’, ‘amber’ or ‘green’ on the international traffic light system are taken by the Government to protect public health. They are informed by evidence including the Joint Biosecurity Centre’s risks assessment methodology alongside wider public health factors. We are unable to provide the advice and evidence which informs these decisions as it relates to the ongoing development of Government policy.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will classify the crews of merchant ships coming to British ports as vital workers with priority for vaccination.

Lord Bethell: Merchant ship crews coming into British ports have not been prioritised for vaccination based on their occupation. However, everyone aged 18 and over in the United Kingdom can now receive their vaccination; this includes all seafarers calling in UK ports.The Government encourages all eligible seafarers and cruise ship employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in line with advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The Department is working closely with the Department for Transport, the Devolved Administrations and NHS England and Improvement to ensure that operational challenges in vaccinating these groups are mitigated so all those who are eligible can access the vaccine in an efficient and convenient way.For phase one of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the JCVI considered evidence on the risk of exposure and risk of mortality from COVID-19, and subsequently provided advice that only health and social care workers should be prioritised for vaccination. The objective of this prioritisation was to protect workers at high risk of exposure, who, should they become infected, may also expose vulnerable individuals to COVID-19 whilst providing care. The Government accepted the JCVI advice.

Disinfectants

The Earl of Shrewsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the article in the Mail Online, published on 26 June which stated that "guidance on the use of non-alcohol sanitisers was 'confusing", whether they now intend to review that guidance; andwhich Task Force it was that was reported to have made that comment.

Lord Bethell: In response to the above statement made by the Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform, there is adequate guidance on the use of non-alcohol sanitisers from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, including on flexible approaches to regulation that they are taking during the COVID-19 outbreak. There are no plans to review this guidance at the current time.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Lord Strasburger: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to NHS Digital’s General Practice Data for Planning and Research data collection,what plans they have (1) to writeindividually to every affected patient fully explaining the proposed data acquisition and its benefits and risks, (2) to include an easily understandable summary of the Data Processing Impact Assessment in any such letter, and (3) to provide both paper and digital methods for patients to easily opt out if they so choose.

Lord Bethell: Privacy information can be communicated to patients through a range of different techniques. We have written a letter to all general practitioner (GP) practices in England who are best placed to inform patients about the data they routinely share. A copy of the letter is attached.We are not ruling out writing to patients but there are concerns that this may not be the most effective way to communicate on this topic. Discussions are ongoing concerning writing to patients, but initially NHS Digital have been asked to work closely with the GP profession to ensure practices are supported in informing patients, whilst acknowledging the need to protect GP practices from additional burden Patients can register a National Data Opt Out via post, phone or email, or register a Type 1 Opt Out by contacting their GP and we are looking at ways to make this process easier for patients and GPs.General Practice Data for Planning and Research (pdf, 99.2KB)